Efficient Recovery and Fast Hydrolysis of Polyethylene Terephthalate by Dihydrolevoglucosenone (Cyrene).

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a versatile, relatively low-cost thermoplastic polymer, but its nonbiodegradability and extensive use lead to significant accumulation and environmental risks. The main roadblocks of current plastic recycling technologies include low-quality recycled plastics and inefficient degradation under harsh conditions, which highlights the urgent need to develop efficient and sustainable recycling processes. Herein, for the first time, a strategy is developed using bio-based solvent dihydrolevoglucosenone (Cyrene) for efficient recycling of waste PET-to-polymer or monomer.

Mitochondria power the nucleus under pressure.

Mechanical confinement of cells, as occurs during processes like tumor cell invasion or immune cell trafficking, poses a pressure that can threaten nuclear integrity and cell viability. Recent findings illuminate a rapid adaptive mechanism by which cells under acute compressive stress rearrange their internal architecture to preserve nuclear functions. Upon confinement, mitochondria swiftly relocate to cluster around the nucleus (forming nuclear-associated mitochondria, NAM), entrapped by a web of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and actin filaments.

Drug-coated balloon angioplasty versus conventional angioplasty for symptomatic non-acute intracranial artery occlusion.

Background And Objective: Non-acute intracranial artery occlusion (ICAO) is an important cause of recurrent ischemic stroke despite aggressive medical treatment. Conventional angioplasty has high incidences of perioperative complications and restenosis in treating these patients. Drug-coated balloon (DCB) treatment has shown superiority in preventing restenosis.

Scanning Electrochemical Cell Microscopy (SECCM) with Hydrogel Probes: A Theoretical and Experimental Investigation.

Scanning Electrochemical Cell Microscopy (SECCM) has emerged as a powerful tool in electrochemical research due to its ability to measure morphology and electrochemical information simultaneously at the nano- or microscale. However, traditional SECCM using liquid probes suffers from issues, such as evaporation, solution residue, and droplet deformation. This study introduced a hydrogel-based SECCM probe and comprehensively explored its superiority over liquid probes through both theoretical and experimental approaches.

Organoids: physiologically relevant models for viral disease research.

Viral diseases pose serious threats to human health, resulting in substantial economic losses. However, traditional disease models often fail to capture the full complexity of viral pathogenesis. Pluripotent and tissue stem cell-derived organoids help bridge this gap by closely mimicking the structure and function of native organs, thereby enabling new breakthroughs in studying viral pathogenesis.

Enhancing Catalysis and Sieving Polysulfides by Oxygen Vacancy-Rich Separator Modifier for High-Performance Li-S Batteries.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have been hindered by the low active material utilization, sluggish kinetics and Li anode corrosion caused by the dissolution of Li polysulfides (LiPSs) intermediates. To solve these problems simultaneously, Fe-doped HTiO anchored on the reduced graphene oxide (rGO/HTiO-Fe) is designed via dopant selection and doping content optimization as a novel separator modifier. Tunable Fe-doping induces the controllable generation of oxygen vacancies (OVs), endowing rGO/HTiO-Fe with suitable Lewis acid character, which causes a sieving effect via the differentiated adsorption between OVs and various LiPSs.

Immune organoids: emerging platforms for modeling and analyzing human adaptive immunity.

The rapid advancement of vaccines and immunotherapies has significantly improved public health. However, a significant translational gap remains between basic research and clinical application, largely attributed to the disconnect between studies and models. To bridge this gap, models of immune organs, including bone marrow, thymus, spleen, lymph nodes, and tonsils, have emerged as a promising solution.

Edible Bird's Nest Ameliorated Acute Pharyngitis Through Exerting the Anti-Inflammatory, Analgesic, and Expectorant Efficacy.

Edible bird's nest (EBN) has been used in the treatment of pharyngitis, sore throat, and excessive sputum. The current study investigated the therapeutic efficacy and mechanisms of EBN against acute pharyngitis (AP). Peptides, amino acids, fatty acids, carbohydrate derivatives, and purine nucleosides were identified tentatively in EBN through the LC-MS method.

Correlations of retinal morphology with clinical symptoms, blood-brain barrier, and brain structure in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

BackgroundPatients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) displayed abnormal retinal morphology; however, its potential associations with clinical symptoms, damage of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and brain structure are unclear.ObjectiveTo investigate the correlations of retinal morphology with clinical symptoms, BBB damage, and brain structure in AD patients.MethodsIn 97 patients with mild cognitive impairment due to AD (AD-MCI) and dementia due to AD (AD-D), retinal morphology, clinical symptoms, BBB variables in cerebrospinal fluid, and brain structure variables, including medial temporal atrophy (MTA), global cortical atrophy (GCA), and white matter hyperintensities scores were evaluated.

Episode-specific cortical functional connectome reorganization and neurobiological correlates in bipolar disorder: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a heterogeneous psychiatric condition characterized by distinct episodes: manic (BipM), depressive (BipD), mixed (mBD), and remission (rBD). Current evidence indicates alterations in brain functional connectivity in BD, yet a comprehensive understanding across all episodes remains incomplete.

Methods: Here, to investigate how different BD episodes alter brain functional organization, we calculated the sensory-association axis using diffusion map embedding on the functional connectome matrix and compared this axis between the four BD groups and neurotypical controls.

Proteomic Analysis of Protein Ubiquitination Events in Dairy Goats with Fatty Liver.

Fatty liver is a major metabolic disease in periparturient dairy goats. Protein ubiquitination, a type of dynamic and multifaceted post-translational modification, plays an important role in metabolism by regulating the stability and function of target proteins. However, the hepatic protein ubiquitination profile in dairy goats with fatty liver is yet to be elucidated.

Tracking causal pathways in TMS-evoked brain responses.

Exploring how local perturbations of cortical activity propagate across the brain network not only helps us understanding causal mechanisms of brain networks, but also offers a network insight into neurobiological mechanisms for transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) treatment response. The concurrent combination of TMS and electroencephalography (EEG) enables researchers to track the TMS-evoked activity, defined here as scalp-recorded electrical signals reflecting the brain's response to TMS, with millisecond-level temporal resolution. Based on this technique, we proposed a quantitative framework which combined sparse non-negative matrix factorization and stage-dependent effective connectivity methods to infer the causal pathways in TMS-evoked brain responses.

Implementation of an endometriosis-specific MRI protocol reduces diagnostic laparoscopy rates and alters treatment paradigms in suspected deep infiltrating endometriosis.

Objective: To evaluate the impact and diagnostic accuracy of an endometriosis-specific magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol on the management of deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE).

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study at the Cleveland Clinic's Center for Pelvic Pain and Endometriosis, a tertiary care academic medical center.

Participants: 444 new patients, aged ≥ 18, without prior diagnoses of endometriosis, gynecologic cancer, or pregnancy, who presented with pelvic pain suspicious for DIE between 2013 and 2020.

Associations of lung function impairment and biological aging with mortality and cardiovascular disease incidence: findings from UK biobank participants.

Background: Lung function impairment, including preserved ratio impaired spirometry (PRISm) and airflow limitation (AL), is associated with increased risks of mortality and cardiovascular disease; however, the underlying biological mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of biological aging, as well as the interactions and joint effects of lung function impairment and biological aging on adverse health outcomes.

Methods: A total of 349,456 UK Biobank participants (aged 40-69 years) were categorized into normal, PRISm, and AL groups based on baseline spirometric measurements.

Origin of Superior Li-Ion Transport in Lamellar Lyotropic Liquid Crystals for Beyond-Liquid Electrolytes.

Rational design of satisfactory electrolytes is of critical importance for efficient and sustainable energy devices. Herein, lamellar-nanostructured lyotropic liquid crystal (LLC) electrolytes showing beyond-liquid performance are designed for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) by constructing desirable amphiphile/liquid interfaces for lithium ion (Li) desolvation and transport. The lamellar LLC electrolytes are simply prepared by self-assembly of amphiphilic 1-hexadecyl-3-methylimidazoliumtetrafluoroborate ([CMim][BF]) in conventional LiBF liquid electrolytes, which forms periodic [CMim][BF] nanolayers and liquid nanolayers.

Bone marrow-derived myeloid cells drive neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease: Insights from the FAD mouse model.

Objective: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is marked by amyloid β (Aβ) accumulation, neuroinflammation, and cognitive decline. While neuroinflammation is a key feature of AD, the potential involvement of bone marrow-derived cells in its pathology remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the role of bone marrow-derived myeloid cells in driving neuroinflammation in AD.

Efficient Generation of Hydrated Electrons for Organic Transformations Using Manganese-Doped Cd-Free Quantum Dots.

Photoemission materials, which can emit free electrons under light illumination, hold substantial technological value in diverse fields ranging from advanced electron sources to photochemistry. Spin-exchange Auger interaction, recently discovered in Mn-doped colloidal quantum dots (QDs), suggests the potential of these low-cost materials for efficient photoemission. However, previous Cd-based QDs suffer from an inherent toxicity issue, and they typically require multistep spin-exchange Auger interaction to achieve free electron ejection.

RIPK4-mediated MFN2 degradation drives osteogenesis through mitochondrial fragmentation and restricts myelopoiesis by blocking mitochondrial transfer.

Human RIPK4 mutation leads to Bartsocas-Papas syndrome (BPS), characterized by severe skin, craniofacial and limb abnormalities. Currently, our understanding of RIPK4's function has focused on epidermal differentiation and development, whether RIPK4 regulates skeletal homeostasis remains largely elusive. Herein, through global RIPK4 ablation in adult mice, we demonstrate that RIPK4 deficiency leads to osteoporosis, promotes myeloid-biased hematopoiesis and osteolineage RIPK4 plays a crucial role in bone formation and myeloid hematopoiesis.

Aldehyde Oxidase 1 Deficiency Enhances Aerobic Exercise Performance by Promoting Skeletal Muscle Adaptation and Improving Mitochondrial Function.

Aerobic exercise has significant health benefits, including preventing chronic diseases like sarcopenia. It strongly depends on muscle fiber types, with higher oxidative fiber ratios enhancing endurance. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying aerobic exercise capacity remain incompletely understood.

The study of the effects of digital media applications in cross-cultural communication in the construction of cultural identity.

Background: This study investigates how digital media usage impacts cultural identity construction across diverse cultural contexts, focusing on the mediating roles of technological affordances, symbolic representation, and social engagement.

Methods: The design was a mixed methods sequential explanatory design. A structured survey was used to collect quantitative data on variables related to digital media usage as well as variables related to cultural identity strength and intercultural communication.

Global burden of alcoholic cardiomyopathy in middle-aged men (1990-2021) and projections to 2050: a systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease 2021 data.

Objective: Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is a severe cardiovascular condition caused by chronic excessive alcohol consumption, leading to heart failure, increased morbidity, and mortality. This study aimed to comprehensively analyze the global burden of ACM among middle-aged males from 1990 to 2021 using the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data. Additionally, we projected future trends until 2050 using time-series forecasting models.

Mutational analysis of TXNRD1 reveals the essential role of Trp in TRP14 reduction and identifies key determinants of enzymatic activity and thermostability.

Cytosolic thioredoxin reductase (TXNRD1) is a key selenoenzyme involved in cellular redox regulation and antioxidant defense. Elucidating the catalytic mechanism of TXNRD1 and its conserved residues or domains is crucial for drug discovery and development. In this study, we investigated the functional roles of several conserved residues in TXNRD1, including Trp, Tyr, and residues in the guiding bar motif, and the catalytic C-terminal domain.

Association of alcohol consumption with sleep disturbance among adolescents in China: a cross-sectional analysis.

Background: Evidence suggests a potential association between alcohol consumption and sleep quality. However, knowledge of this association among adolescents in China is limited. Thus, this study aims to investigate the association between alcohol consumption and sleep quality in a group of adolescents in China.

Promoting collective cooperation through temporal interactions.

Collective cooperation maintains the function of many natural and social systems, making understanding the evolution of cooperation a central question of modern science. Although human interactions involve complex contact networks, current explorations are limited to static networks, where social ties are permanent and do not change over time. In reality, human activities often involve temporal interactions, where links are impermanent, and understanding the evolution of cooperation on such temporal networks is an open problem.

Mitochondrial One-Carbon Metabolism Drives CD34-Lineage Cells to Differentiate Into T Follicular Helper Cells to Form Tertiary Lymphoid Organs in Transplant Arteriosclerosis.

Background: Allograft arteriosclerosis, a significant cause of graft failure, is linked to the formation of tertiary lymphoid organs. T follicular helper (Tfh) cells are a vital subset of helper T cells that control the formation of the germinal center in tertiary lymphoid organs. Thus, understanding the origins and regulatory mechanisms of Tfh cells in allograft arteriosclerosis is essential for developing targeted therapies.